The translator’s own creative practice

A translator with a writing life

The Creative Independent introduces Poupeh Missaghi as a writer, editor, translator and educator, crediting her English translation of Boys of Love for the University of Wisconsin Press in 2024. Rebecca van Laer’s conversation then turns chiefly to Missaghi’s own books, research and the conditions that sustain her practice. Source 1

Missaghi describes research as part of making a work, rather than as a preliminary task that ends before writing begins. She explains how theoretical reading, lived experience and fictional voices can shape a project together. The examples concern her books trans(re)lating house one and Sound Museum, rather than a commentary on Rabihavi’s novel. Source 1

A way into the name on the title page

The conversation also considers resistance to fixed forms and to received accounts of a person or a political moment. Reading it gives a fuller sense of the translator’s artistic interests. The link belongs to her profile and practice; it is distinct from a translator’s introduction or a review of Boys of Love. Source 1

Sources & credits

1. The Creative Independent · Poupeh Missaghi

   Rebecca van Laer’s conversation, 31 October 2024. The introduction credits Boys of Love; the conversation primarily concerns Missaghi’s own writing and creative practice.